
The four face buttons are responsive and not too spongy but the four shoulder buttons are less impressive - they sit awkwardly in the casing and are hard to press during play. Still, it's entirely likely that you'll be too engrossed to notice - the degree of control and precision offered by the stick is sublime, making it blissfully easy to pull off special moves in The King of Fighters '95, or shake off the attentions of a rival player in Super Sidekicks. It also emits an incredibly loud clicking noise during use, so expect to receive plenty of disgruntled glances if you plan on playing this on public transport. The micro-switched joystick calls to mind the example seen on the Neo Geo CD controller and the smaller variant on the Neo Geo Pocket - SNK's ill-fated attempt to go up against Nintendo's dominant Game Boy from 1998. The Neo Geo X console is well-made and has a pleasing heft to it it's around the same size as a PS Vita and boasts a rubberised back to increase grip during gameplay. When it comes to the actual device itself, initial impressions remain positive. They've even reproduced the iconic Neo Geo logo stickers to seal each box. The team behind the Neo Geo X's packaging clearly know their stuff the box design is an almost identical replication of the original Neo Geo AES packaging, right down to the individual internal boxes with their contents marked clearly on the front. Despite its licensed nature, the device does a fantastic job of feeling suitably authentic.
#Snk neo geo license#
As a result, the Neo Geo X is a device created under license from SNK Playmore by American publisher Tommo and distributed in the UK by Blaze.
#Snk neo geo software#
Bankrupted in 2001, the SNK name was resurrected as SNK Playmore and is now focused on software production. Of course, SNK isn't the same company it was when it pushed the Neo Geo hardware onto the marketplace over two decades ago.

Rather than downsizing the original tech, licensee Tommo uses emulation - something which might leave a bad taste in the mouths of some hardcore Neo Geo collectors. The console - bizarrely - uses a 16:9 display and boasts a micro-switched controller for accurate control. Neo Geo X specsĪ handheld replication of SNK's famous arcade format, the Neo Geo X aims to celebrate one of gaming's most enduring systems. The fact that your average smartphone is far more powerful - and probably perfectly capable of emulating the SNK hardware with little effort - is irrelevant like no other brand in the realm of interactive entertainment, the Neo Geo is blessed with an appeal dedicated players seem to find irresistible.


This is a device which has been produced to scratch an itch that many gamers have had since 1990 - the yearning to own what was once referred to as "the Rolls Royce of video game consoles". Were it not for the Neo Geo's unique status in the world of video games, a product like the Neo Geo X simply wouldn't exist. The Neo Geo's cult status has remained constant, despite the passage of time and relatively low hardware sales and the format continues to enjoy limited developer support even to this day - something that is made possible by an incredibly active and passionate community. Titles like Fatal Fury 2 and Metal Slug were spoken about in hushed, reverent tones in playgrounds all over the world this was a system that was on everyone's wish list, yet for the vast majority of players it was frustratingly unobtainable. Predictably, this relegated the machine to little more than a bit-part during the epic console wars of the early '90s, yet the mystique of the hardware endured regardless, thanks largely to extensive coverage in the magazines of the period. The catch was the price - the console itself was a significant investment, while the games retailed for anything between £150-£200 a piece.

Launched in two flavours - MVS for arcade, AES for the home - the system offered coin-op quality visuals at a time when domestic gamers made do with pared-down arcade ports. Released at a time when gaming was dominated by consoles like the 8-bit NES and 16-bit Mega Drive, SNK's Neo Geo system was both powerful - and expensive.
